MARKETING

Denver Travel and Adventure Show:

The Walton County Tourism Department encouraged Coloradoans to trade their snow for sugar white sand beaches at the Denver Travel and Adventure Show In February. South Walton came to life for attendees at the photo booth, making them feel as if they had been transported to our beautiful destination. Prospective visitors enjoyed learning about the wonderful activities on the beach and beyond, as well as receiving a piece of South Walton to take home.

 

Walton County Event Grant Program:

The Walton County Tourism Department Event Grant Program is intended to support, grow, and promote local special events that have the ability to generate economic impact and overnight stays in Walton County. Applicants who score within the acceptable range and are approved by both the Tourist Development Council and the Walton County Commissioners will be contacted as applicable.

Thank you for your interest. The application is now open and will close on Wednesday, March 29. Please click HERE for the application; to reference the program guidelines, click HERE.

Please contact Rebekah Paul at Rebekah@visitsouthwalton.com with any questions.

 

Supplemental Co-op Program: 

As an extension of the annual co-op program, the Walton County Tourism Department offers the opportunity to purchase digital paid media programs throughout the year via the Supplemental Co-Op Program. Partners, both Bed Tax Collectors and Non-Bed Tax Collectors, can select one-month flights on Facebook/Instagram, TripAdvisor, VRBO, or Programmatic Display and three-month flights on Connected TV. Meetings-eligible partners will be able to select dedicated emails or one-month flights on LinkedIn. Weddings-eligible partners will be able to select one-month flights on Pinterest. Campaigns will begin five weeks after the purchase date. This offers partners the opportunity to anticipate a need for additional promotion and purchase it, providing more campaign flexibility. As with the annual program, the Walton County Tourism Department covers at least half the cost of each placement. 

This program is available through the online signup system used for the annual program. Within this system, partners can see all opportunities to purchase as needed and upload the required assets with ease. This turn-key solution provides a one-stop-shop for digital media purchase. 

Please visit https://coop.visitsouthwalton.com/ to sign up or sign in, explore the opportunities and purchase today! 

 

 

 

Book>Direct Accommodations Search Engine: 

The Walton County Tourism Department has partnered with Book>Direct to provide accommodation partners with the ability to display real-time rates and availability on visitsouthwalton.com. If you would like to add or update a rental property listing, please fill out the new partner registration form and email to Lisa@visitsouthwalton.com.

To view the Book>Direct user interface and its functionality, please visit the STAY page of our website. If you need more information about Book>Direct or signing up as a Walton County accommodations partner, please contact Lisa Foster, industry relations specialist, at Lisa@visitsouthwalton.com or (850) 333-2728.

 

Website Stats Users & Page Views: 

  • There were 165,656 pageviews and 96,453 unique users on the website in February. 
  • Users who visited the site in February were mostly female (61%), between the ages 35-54 (45%), and new visitors (88.9%). 
  • The traffic coming to the website in February mostly came from Social, Organic Search and Paid Search which combined to account for 73% off all traffic coming to the site. Direct, Display and Video were also strong contributors, accounting for an additional 21.8% of the site’s traffic in February.

Devices:

  • Consistent with previous months, mobile devices were the primary driver of traffic to the website, making up 73.7% of total sessions.
  • Desktops continued to account for the most engagement in average session duration (1:37), the highest number of pages per session (2.1), and the lowest bounce rate (60.9%).

Geography:

  • Top Metros: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Nashville, and Houston.
  • In February, users from Texas, Georgia, and Illinois were responsible for the most sessions.

Most viewed pages:

Online Visitor Guide Data:

  • Travel Guide pageviews were down slightly in February, as they decreased by 1.2% from their mark in January. Engagements on the Travel Guide page were mixed as Average Time on Page (+24.5%) were up, as was Bounce Rate (+2.8%). Overall, Bounce Rate was at 61.1%, which is just above the targeted 60% goal.
  • In February, there were a total of 306 Visitor Guide requests, which is 7 less than there were in January.

Social in South Walton:

Through our targeted approach, we are able to share the destination’s story and network to specifically targeted markets, while providing informational and inspirational content to motivate future visitation.

Check out some of the highlights from our channels:

  • Facebook

    • Total Followers – 327,650 (+1,284)
    • Total Monthly Reach – 3,024,479
    • Total Monthly Engagements – 292,544
    • Total Monthly Post Reactions – 135,247
    • Total Monthly Link Clicks – 216
    • Top Performing Post – Visit South Walton
    • Impressions: 678,892


  • Instagram

Don’t forget to tag us (#SouthWalton and @SouthWalton) in all social media posts! Not only does this improve engagement, but it also allows our social team to stay connected to you and your business' news.  

Beach Safety Toolkit and Promotional Items:

The safety of South Walton's beachgoers is a priority. In addition to funding the South Walton Fire District's beach lifeguards, the Walton County Tourism Department shares beach safety information in a variety of ways, including beach flags and signs at our beach access points, printed materials (like our beach guides and maps, specialty travel guides/magazines, coasters at local restaurants, beach flag magnets and window clings), beach condition text messages, social media posts, and radio ads.

We've also created a Beach Safety Toolkit page on our website, where partners and local businesses can download a variety of useful information related to beach safety or schedule a delivery or pickup of promo items. 

If you'd like any printed beach safety materials to share with your guests or customers, please contact Lisa Foster, industry relations specialist, at Lisa@visitsouthwalton.com or (850) 333-2728. We can make arrangements for you to pick them up at the Visitor Center, which is open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

  • For current beach conditions and flag updates, text "FLAG" to 31279*

*South Walton Beach Conditions: Message and Data Rates May Apply. Periodic Messaging. For help, text HELP, text STOP to end.

Print Publications:

The Walton County Tourism Department is proud to offer a family of publications including VISIT, PERFECT, FOREVER, EXPLORE and SAVOR. CLICK HERE to see online versions of each guide. 

  • VISIT is a revamped version of our Visitor Guide, complete with features on the South Walton culinary scene, lifestyle, events and outdoor exploration.
  • PERFECT celebrates the businesses and events that were honored as our 2023 Perfect in South Walton Award winners. 
  • FOREVER is your guide to weddings in Walton County. Learn about the variety of venues available and all of the ways you can create lasting memories on your big day. 
  • EXPLORE is exactly what you need to get out and discover Walton County's abundance of natural beauty, outdoor activities, live music and dynamic arts and culture scenes. 
  • SAVOR is our spotlight on all things culinary in Walton County, from waterfront and fine dining to coastal casual eats and full restaurant listings. 

 We'd love for you to share these free guides with your guests. Please contact Industry Relations Specialist Lisa Foster at Lisa@visitsouthwalton.com or (850) 333-2728 to place an order and make arrangements for either pick up at the Visitor Center or delivery to your office or vacation rental.

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Visit South Walton
25777 US Hwy 331 S | Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
VisitSouthWalton.com | (850) 267-1216